Public Spaces

Database of organisations and actors dealing with issues related to public spaces in the Balkan/ SEE region 

http://www.public-spaces.expeditio.org/ 

A database of organisations and actors dealing with issues related to public spaces in the Balkan/ SEE region has been created within the project “Revival of City Squares in Balkan Cities” As its overall goal, the project “Revival of City Squares in Balkan Cities” aims to contribute to the revival of city squares as viable public places that foster cultural identity and promote diversity through enforcement of public policies and active community participation. The action intends to achieve two major specific objectives: to promote national and regional policy discourse on how city squares can be transformed into pulsating community places and develop a platform for transforming open public spaces into vibrant places that serve community needs. This project uses participative approaches and partnerships to build on the already reached achievements in Balkan/ SEE region and to secure active involvement of all relevant stakeholders. Different civil society organizations and other actors give considerable contribution to addressing public spaces issues. There are numerous projects and initiatives all around the Balkan/ SEE region treating issues in this field. The database aims to present, in one place, various organisations and actors dealing with issues related to public spaces in the Balkan/ SEE region. We would like to invite all of you whose work is related to city squares and public spaces, their transformation and public participation, to contact us. This will help us create a valuable database/ platform for the Revival of City Squares in Balkan cities.

The database can be viewed here
 http://www.public-spaces.expeditio.org/index.php?option=com_fabrik&view=table&tableid=2&calculations=0&resetfilters=0&Itemid=2

Newsletter No.3

http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=2a609c398366ad1c8e5fd7843&id=c3ef78bb84&e=3432213024 


Dear colleagues,
Welcome! This is the third newsletter for the project “Revival of City Squares in Balkan Cities”.

About the project

The project “Revival of City Squares in Balkan Cities” began in January 2011. The project aims to contribute to the revival of city squares as viable public places that foster cultural identity and promote diversity through enforcement of public policies and active community participation. (read more)

Database of organisations and actors dealing with issues related to public spaces in the Balkan/ SEE region

A database of organisations and actors dealing with issues related to public spaces in the Balkan/ SEE region has been created within the project “Revival of City Squares in Balkan Cities”. The project uses participative approaches and partnerships to build on the already reached achievements in Balkan/ SEE region and to secure active involvement of all relevant stakeholders.(read more)

Workshop “SQUARE PLAY” - Skopje, 14-19 October 2011

The workshop “SQUARE PLAY” was the third and final in the series of regional workshops envisaged by the project “Revival of City Squares in the Balkan Cities”.
The aim of this workshop was to encourage regional exchange of ideas regarding the discourse on city squares / public spaces and how they can be transformed into vibrant community places that meet community cultural, social and economic needs and foster new perspective and awareness, so that the idea of "city culture" (the way people think about public spaces and conceive them) can be developed.(read more)

The meeting of counterparts of the project “Revival of Town Squares of the Balkan Towns” in Skoplje

The meeting of counterparts of the project “Revival of Town Squares of the Balkan Towns” was held in Skoplje on 11 and 12 November 2011. The meeting was attended by the representatives of the counterpart non-governmental organisations which implement the project: Co-PLAN and Polis University from Tirana, EXPEDITIO from Kotor, as well as the host of the meeting – Coalition for Sustainable ... (read more)

Planned activities

For the coming period, by the end of 2012, the following activities have been planned:

• Consultative process on validation and support of guidelines with the key stakeholders (including public officials, segments of civil society and citizens) through meetings and round tables held in three towns, Tirana, Skopje and Kotor
• Elaboration of a set of viable guidelines on city square transformation, which will serve to local officials and policy-makers as a manual on city square transformation
• Development of local policy documents on city square transformation - policy papers containing the main points with regards to the process of transformation of open public spaces into places serving community needs
• Preparation of the publication “Roadmap for a Livable Cities”, summing up the project results and representing a useful tool and manual for formulating cultural and civic participative policies related to contemporary city squares.
• Organising of the Final Conference of the project

The Final Conference of the project scheduled to be held within the Tirana Architecture Week

The Final Conference of the project is scheduled to be held in October 2012 within the first Tirana Architecture Week. It will be a big closing event foreseeing to host an International exhibition of Contemporary Art inspired by the idea of Public Squareand four site-specific artworks created by two artists from different areas of the Balkan Region.(read more)

Architecture as a tool for the re-appropriation of the contemporary city

[Re] appropriation of the city

Architecture as a tool for the re-appropriation of the contemporary city

http://www.tiranaarchitectureweek.com/architecture-events/scientific-conference/

Important dates:

March 1st - call for abstracts   

April 30th - deadline for abstract submission
 

May 20th - abstract acceptance confirmation 

June 15th - deadline for conference registration
 

July 22th - full paper submission
 

August 15th - revision of papers by Sc. Committee  

September 1st - revised paper submission  

October 9-12th - conference

1. Introduction

POLIS University launches the 1^st international conference of architecture TAW_{C_01}, as one of the key events of the Tirana Architecture Week. TAW_{C_01} shall take place in Tirana, from October 09 to 12, at the premises of the POLIS University. The theme of the TAW_{C_01} is “Re-appropriating the city: Architecture as a tool for the re-appropriation of the contemporary city”. Balkan cities are at the focus of the conference’s theme, looking forward to identify their position in the international platform of city performances.

Balkan cities have various unique experiences of space appropriation. Alike culture, space is also vivid and human and it is continuously transformed through a mutual process of human – space interaction. The space for all, the one we name as public, evolves in its interaction with several users. The users are the people, but from an ecological point of few, this could include other species, thus increasing the complexity of space appropriation. All in all, this would be a healthy space appropriation.

In Balkan cities, we have been witnessing plenty of devastating intrusions to the public space, made by privileged groups that just “grabbed the opportunity” in a given political and social economic setting. These intrusions have undermined the human-space healthy balances, by resulting in space capture. The latter has been extremely severe in the Balkan context of shifting from dictatorial to democratic societies, where the concept “space for all” was evilly manipulated into “space for my business”. This “laissez faire” psychology was justified with the “need for transition to real capitalism”, endorsement of consumerist ideologies and quick removal of legacies of the past, including fractions of social responsibility. Thus, the one that used to be the space for all was taken over for personal, narrow and selfish interests of the strongest, or the fittest.

Having recognized that, we also observe not to be free as yet of these unhealthy takings that often stand behind the well known business. Thus, we identify a need for getting space back to the public and also maintaining the healthy interactions. In our Balkan context, space appropriation has to enter a “[re]” phase, which encompasses processes of [re]claiming, [re]evaluating, [re]arranging, [re]using, [re]building, [re]shaping, [re]modelling, and at last [re]understanding and [re]developing space as a place of all. Re-appropriation of space in the city stands for a known method, but reversed model, fed into daily practices.

The aim of the TAW_{C_01} is to support a fertile debate on city/public space re-appropriation. The debate should disclose reasons behind the facts and bring innovative knowledge and tools for achieving re-appropriation. Professionals, academics, students and a broad public could participate and try to define, conceptually and physically public spaces, as a fundamental element in re-appropriating the contemporary city.  

Architects, urban planners, designers, experts in sustainability issues and space psychology are invited to share their experiences, their knowledge and inspiration, cases from world cities and other useful insights. The contributions would at last provide a solid basis for Balkan cities in the endeavour towards sound and healthy re-appropriation.

2. Sub-themes and Dimensions

The scope of TAWC_01 is distinct, yet all-inclusive. The participants are kindly invited to make their contributions within a matrix of 6 sub-themes and 4 dimensions.

Sub-theme 1: From missing links to connected city
It could be called also “the mixing city”. What are the networks that can reconnect all of the parts in city? How can this reconnection occur? How to reuse forgotten, or abandoned places? How to be efficient in using land/space, yet be creative? How to bring back or keep safe the value of the mix in the use of the space? Etc.
Sub-theme 2: The Inclusive city
How to design or redesign a space for all, a space that respects gender, age, abilities and needs? How to afford this design or redesign process and its implementation? How to inclusively benefit from it?
Sub-theme 3: The living building
The building or the structure, as the element that shapes space or is defined by the space, is the focus. How can sustainable, green buildings and eco design be used to re-appropriate the space? Is there any room for daring towards new paradigms?
Sub-theme 4: The “Ergonomic” city
This is the city/space that intelligently fits its people and all other species, in an evolutionary context and fashion. Do the people [re]appropriate the city/space to their needs, or the city [re]absorbs people’s habits and needs and [re]appropriates people?
Sub-theme 5: My city
The city is the result of the psychological and physical interaction of humans with space and species. What are the social and spiritual links between peoples and the space/city. Is one the result of the other? What is the causal relationship?
Sub-theme 6: The Spontaneous city
Inspiration, creativity and spontaneity are the driving forces of development in any values systems. Can spontaneous or informal space developments bring us higher in the values systems? How can we use the spontaneous or organic developments to reveal the solution in space [re]appropriation?

Scientific Committee:

POLIS University: Dr. Besnik Aliaj, Dr. Loris Rossi, Dr. Antonino Di Raimo, Dr. Vera Bushati, Dr. Arber Shtylla

Università “ La Sapienza” Roma: Prof. Antonino Saggio 

Università Ferrara: Prof. Antonello Stella

ANHALT University of Applied Science: Prof. Stephan Pinkau

Technical University of Vienna: Prof. Marcus Tomaselli 

Cottbus University: Prof. Raimund Fein 

Erasmus University of Rotterdam: Prof. Peter Niented 

University of Belgrade: Prof. Vladan Djokic